Finance Director Search Narrows

BOLTON — The search for the town's first finance director has been narrowed to five candidates from the 15 applications reviewed last week by a screening committee.

Because of a miscommunication, though, the screening process led to an hour's discussion Wednesday evening among First Selectman Carl Preuss, finance board Chairman James Roscoe and members of the finance board over the role the board should have in the search.

Roscoe asked why he had not been contacted after finance board member Michael Eremita told officials he could not join the screening committee's review of the 15 applications Wednesday. Roscoe said he did not even know a meeting was scheduled for that day.

``All it would have taken is a phone call. The board of finance expects to be involved in all aspects of the search,'' Roscoe said. Other finance board members at the meeting agreed.

Roscoe said one finance board member should be added to the panel that interviews the five semi-finalists on June 1 and 3. He said that also should apply to the yet-to-be- scheduled interviews of two or three finalists by Administrative officer Joyce Stille, Treasurer Catherine Peterson, and school Superintendent Mark Cohan, who will make their recommendation to the board of selectmen.

Preuss said the makeup of those two interview panels had been agreed on in January when the search began, with the idea of having the final interviews done by administrators who will be the immediate supervisors of the new finance director. After the discussion Wednesday, Preuss said he had no problem adding a finance board member to the panels.

``I just hope it doesn't delay the process,'' Preuss said. Town officials hope to have a finance director in place by July 1, the start of the new fiscal year.

Eremita will participate in the June 1 and 3 sessions; Roscoe said Friday a finance board member for the final interviews has yet to be chosen.

The search process began earlier this year after a joint selectmen/school board subcommittee completed a six-month study citing more than a dozen benefits of hiring a full-time finance officer who would also be deputy treasurer and provide some services to the schools. The benefits include savings in purchasing, bidding and insurance, better use of town resources and getting more federal and state grants.